Former BMW exec Roland Kruger hired as new Infiniti president

AUTO NEWS

Will also function as Nissan Senior Vice President

by

September 11, 2014 11:43

Nissan has hired former Senior Vice President of BMW Roland Kruger as Infiniti's new president, succeeding Johan de Nysschen who headed to Cadillac recently. Additionally, the Japanese automaker has also designated Kruger as Nissan's Senior Vice President. He will be based at the luxury brand's headquarters in Hong Kong and will report to Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

"Roland Kruger has a consistent record of high performance in the premium automotive sector. He brings unique leadership skills that will accelerate Infiniti's progress in the global premium market,” said Ghosn.

Kruger first entered the automotive profession in 1992 as Mitsubishi Motors Europe's interior and exterior designer in Germany. In 1994, he joined the Daimler Group as a senior designer for SMART interiors, and ultimately becoming the senior designer in the Strategic Planning Group of the company.

It was in 1998 that he joined BMW as a manager of Strategic Product Planning. After that Kruger led the Product and Price Planning for the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe. He also headed the Regional Marketing position that also handled the mentioned regions earlier. After his post in marketing, he was chosen as the Managing Director of the BMW Group in Asia. In 2008, the company named him as President and CEO of BMW Group, Japan. Finally in 2013, Kruger served as the company's Senior Vice President before eventually joining Nissan Motor Co Ltd.